LUDLOW : ENGLAND -SH

*Location:

   Parish Church of St.Laurence Ludlow
   College Street
   Ludlow, Shropshire, England
   OS Ref. SO 511 747
   LL: N 52.36823, W 2.71867
Site locator map
City locator maps and gazetteer page

*Contact:

   Parish of Ludlow - St.Laurence
   2 College Street
   Ludlow  SY8 1AN
   T: 01584 872 073
   E: office/@/stlaurences.org DOTuk
   - or -
   Tony Greatrex, Tower Captain
   E: tgreatrex@aol.com
   - or -
   Michael Oakley, Director of Music
   E: music/@/stlaurences.org DOTuk

*Schedule:

   (unknown)

*Remarks:

   Original octave by Abraham Rudhall
   of Gloucester.  Tuned and tenor recast
   by Taylor in 1988.  Remodelled in 2008
   with 2 recycled bells and 3 new by
   Whitechapel, all now tuned in Fifth
   Comma Meantone Temperament.
   Added semitone is minor 3rd (10b).
   Automated chiming system by Nicholson
   Engineering, Bridport, in 2009,
   replacing former drum.

*Technical data:

   Electric-automatic chime of 13 bells
   Pitch of heaviest bell is E  in the middle octave
   Transposition is not applicable
   Keyboard range:     ----  /    ----  
   There is one added semitone
   The instrument was enlarged in 2008
     by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Prior history:
     In 1988, some bells were recast or replaced
       with bells made by Taylor      
       Pitch of heaviest bell was D  in the middle octave
       Keyboard range was:     ROPE  /    NONE  
       There were no added semitones
     In 1732, the instrument was begun with  8 bells
       by the maker cited in Remarks above
   Auxiliary mechanisms: R10nM 
   Tower details not available
   Year of latest technical information source is 2020
*Links:

The church Website has a photo of the 10 ringing bells, but no further details.
A "conquer the tower" page offers views over the town plus a downloadable PDF that describes the "carillon" -- formerly a drum and now computer-controlled electric hammers.
Photos show the 10 ringing bells and one of the chiming bells; but it is not clear where the other two are located.
Photo of bells in frame
Photo of the ringing room
Another page includes a photo of the tower.
Apparently there is no photo of the drum, which is either on display in the north aisle or still working in the tower, depending on which bit of text you read.  An 8-note Ellacombe rack, now disused, remains on one wall of the ringing chamber -- a leftover from when this was a ring of 8 bells.

Dove's Guide Online gives details of the bells.

Where the initial phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of miscellaneous bellfoundries, in this region and in the world.
Where the second phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Taylor bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.
Where the final phase of this work lies in the sequence of output of the Whitechapel bellfoundry, in this region and in the world.

Ranking among all British Isles chimes by pitch (weight).
Ranking among all British Isles chimes by size (number of bells).
Ranking among all British Isles chimes by year of completion.

Index to all tower bell instruments in England.

*Status:
   This page was built from the database on  5-Nov-23
   based on textual data last updated on 2021/01/01
   and on technical data last updated on 2021/01/02
*Photos:

(none available)

Explanations of page format and keyboard range are available.

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